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It is funny how one cache will have a hint for directions that should be in the description, and occasionally there will be a cache with says right in the description something like "... this is a challenging cache ... blah blah blah ... take a turn at the blue mark and look behind the rock under the pile of sticks 15 feet to the right of the bridge to find the cache.

I've visited a local cache 6 times solo.... two more w/several others and once w/6 experienced cachers. Oh did I mention that the C.O. has told me it's an EZ cache!? On top of other similar experiences...I got so frustrated that I went out and bought a bag of coins to seed..... "You've Found Squat"

Improper terrain ratings can make any hints less worthy as well. It's not unusual especially for newer cache hiders to not get ratings correct. We as well as several other cachers have DNF'd a 1 terrain cache in Western Maine which to this day is still rated a 1 terrain, yet you have to climb just a bit to get to it. We spent hours there looking for something within reach of a wheelchair. Other cachers have increased terrain due to muggle factor which is incorrect. I have also seen cachers increase the difficulty level because they thought the terrain was tougher than a 5.

D/T ratings

In my experience older caches that were placed before the ratings were established or more accurately defined will often vary wildly from current expectations.

We also recently returned from caching in the Berkshire mountains in Western MA and found that the prevailing geography of an area can impact the terrain ratings found. We went out on a FTF run on a cache with a 2 terrain rating we got parking to find an 850 foot bushwhack up a 25-30% grade, over many downed trees from an ice storm.

When we were done, we spoke to a local cacher (with 10000 finds) who shared the FTF with us about the fact that we thought it was under rated and she said it was correct as caches were rated around there!

So you cache and learn as you go.

As to hints, when a cache is in an urban, muggle intensive setting, I like to provide hints to make sure finders can find it and be gone without drawing undo attention to the cache.

One of my pet peeves are folks that hunt with only the coords, they do not have the benefit of the hider's instructions than not only would assist them, but also help preserve the integrity of the hide or respect the rights of neighboring property owners.

One of my pet peeves are folks that hunt with only the coords, they do not have the benefit of the hider's instructions than not only would assist them, but also help preserve the integrity of the hide or respect the rights of neighboring property owners.

There's soooo much to consider when placing a great cache....isn't there!? That is if you care about its longevity, the land, land owners, and people wanting to do more of your caches.

I always use the hint because I want to find the cache! lol I don't have much spare time and when I have a day for caching, I really want to find the caches. Same with my caches, I really want people to find them. So I will give hints if they ask.

In my experience older caches that were placed before the ratings were established or more accurately defined will often vary wildly from current expectations.

The funny part about that is the Geocache Rating System Sudonim pointed out has been around and unchanged since the Summer of 2001! That is nearly a year before I joined. The problem once again appears to be lack of information and/or new cachers too eager to read all of the information gc.com has to offer before hiding a cache or otherwise assuming they know all they need to know. Heck, there's even a link to the GCRS right on the cache submission page! I try to remember to link to the GCRS in any cache log where I might disagree with the rating. Education is key!

Originally Posted by lexmano

One of my pet peeves are folks that hunt with only the coords, they do not have the benefit of the hider's instructions than not only would assist them, but also help preserve the integrity of the hide or respect the rights of neighboring property owners.

I used to cache this way, mainly because it is funner to cache without any information most of the time. Sometimes half the fun is just finding the parking area. Unfortunately, especially now that there are so many caches in critical areas, there are the property issues as well as others that you mentioned in your post, so I usually will read the description ahead of time.